Tufts/CfA/MIT Cosmology Seminar, at the CfA:

Tuesday, April 13, 2004
12:30 pm
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Pratt Conference Room (G04)

"When Was the Universe Reionized?"


Avi Loeb
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Abstract:

The re-ionization history of cosmic hydrogen, left over from the big bang, provides crucial fossil evidence for when the first stars and black holes formed in the infant universe. Current observations provide a mixed message. The large-scale polarization anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background measured by WMAP imply a reionization redshift of 10-20. However, the extent of the ionized regions around the highest redshift quasars indicate a significantly neutral universe at a redshift of 6.4. I will summarize the status of current observational and theoretical studies, and address the possibility that the time evolution of the mean ionization fraction might have been non-monotonic. The truth will likely be revealed over the next decade through observations of the Lyman-alpha spectra of galaxies, quasars and gamma-ray bursts, as well as the detection of intergalactic 21 cm emission from redshifts above 6.

Return to Joint Cosmology Seminar home page.